A Chair Lift Broke Down In Banff And Skiers Had To Rappel Down Ropes

At least the view was nice.

If there's any upside to being left dangling on a broken chair lift in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, it's that the view doesn't suck.

Banff Sunshine Village / Via Facebook: SunshineVillageResort

About 100 people had to shimmy down ropes after a chair lift broke down Sunday at Banff Sunshine Village, a ski resort in Alberta.

unichillwear / Via instagram.com

It took several hours for crews to get everyone back on the ground. Mark Pawley, who was among those stranded, wrote on Facebook that the rescue team worked quickly as people shivered in their seats.

Instagram: @sunshinevillage

"It was amazing to see how organised and fast your rescue personnel were. They worked with a real sense of urgency. It was no joke," he wrote.

"Some people were uncontrollably shivering, others were having sense of humour failures, most of us could feel our extremities starting to freeze; all of which lead to irrational thinking and consequently accidents."

"Banff Sunshine Village, I'm proud of you and your personnel, and never regret being a season pass holder. You guys rock."

Mark Pawley

Pawley posted a video on YouTube showing the people in front of him getting lowered to the ground.

youtube.com

Once on the ground, those stuck on the lift were treated to hot chocolate and complimentary passes.

Sunshine Village later updated to say there was a gearbox failure on the Goat's Eye Express lift, caused by a "brand new" oil pump. The lift is closed until further notice.

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